


Old friends

by orphan_account



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M, Mentions of Casual Sex, Nori and Bofur are just terrible at this, crush on one's best friend who is also one's fuck buddy, people being shit at romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-06
Updated: 2013-11-06
Packaged: 2017-12-31 16:28:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1033850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Bofur and Nori have been friends for years<br/>They also occasionally shag each other.<br/>Not that it means anything, really.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Old friends

**Author's Note:**

  * For [guldfiskn](https://archiveofourown.org/users/guldfiskn/gifts).



They were not dating, Bofur knew that much. He wasn't the dating type, and neither was Nori. Dating was for old people and they might have been well in their thirties, but they were not _old_. They were young, hot, _eligible_ bachelors, and the fact that they had slept with no one but each other for near three months didn't change that one bit.

It was just that there was a comfort to it, really. It was easy that way. They knew each other so well, they could try things, the sort you _couldn't_ try with a one night stand. And Bofur liked it when Nori stayed over in the morning, because it often meant a nice breakfast and sleepy sex, which was just fine as far as Bofur was concerned. And it must have been good by Nori's standard too, since he wasn't trying to find anything else.

"I've slept with every queer boy at work already," he told Bofur one night while they were watching crap telly. "A few of the straight ones too, a couple girls... that stuff's so easy, ain't fun anymore."

"The Lord of Heartbreaks needs a new game to play then?"

"You could say that. Or you could pass me a beer and get drunk with me, because I don't think I can watch Dance with the Stars sober."

Bofur had laughed, given him the beer, and they had ended up shagging on the sofa. They both agreed in the morning that they were too old for that shit, and that they shouldn't do it again. Not too often a least.

It wasn't all sunshine and rainbows of course. Nori could be bloody annoying, for example when he cooked but left a mountain of dishes for Bofur to wash. Every time it happened, the mechanic was damn glad that they _weren't_ dating, because it was the sort of things that would have driven him crazy. That and the fact Nori couldn't make two steps without getting hit on by men and women. Bofur wasn't the jealous sort, but with Nori he might have been.

Even like that he was a little.

They weren't a couple, but it didn't mean he couldn't wish that they were, sometimes, when he was drunk enough to allow himself to think of such things. A man could dream.

Until even dreaming became impossible, because Nori was after someone, seriously after them this time.

 

* * *

 

It was Dwalin who told him. They'd been in school together the three of them, until the end of high school. They had stayed in contact though, and Dwalin often joined them for a night out when he had time. Nori and Dwalin didn't often agree though, and Bofur had always thought the ginger was closer to him... but Nori had told _Dwalin_ he was trying to get serious with someone while he hadn't breathed a word of it to Bofur, and that wasn't right.

"Man or woman?" He asked the policeman, too shocked to answer something better.

"Man. His age. He swears it's love this time, and that he's going serious and monogamous and everything. Says he likes him even when they're _not_ having sex."

"Well, fuck me, that _does_ sound like love," Bofur admitted. "Who is it? Someone he works with?"

"No, more likely a friend. He said he can't even remember how he met him. Granted, he was fairly drunk when he told me. We talked about it after watching a match, and you know how he gets when his team wins. He was plastered and saying he wanted to get married and everything. It was sort of cute, really, I had never seen him seem so serious about someone.... and you don't know who it could be?"

"No idea," Bofur sighed miserably, and he was grateful when Dwalin didn't insist.

 

* * *

 

It wasn't that he had ever hoped Nori and him could ever get serious. He was a _practical_ man. He'd had time to get used to the idea that Nori didn't _do_ serious.

Except he did, now.

And suddenly, the fact that they'd gone casual for so long was a problem. It no longer was because Nori didn't do anything else. It was just because he didn't _want_ anything else, not from Bofur.

 

* * *

 

For the next two weeks, Bofur found excuses to avoid Nori. It felt strange, and it made him a coward probably, but he couldn't stand the idea that Nori might tell him about his damn shiny new boyfriend.

He knew that Nori would notice something was off, but he hadn't expected him to notice so soon, and having him come to Bofur's place one evening with a bottle of Bofur's favourite cider was even more of a surprise.

"I'm coming in," he announced, pushing Bofur from the doorway to do exactly that. "I would have called, but you're so busy lately, thought it might be easier to just come and see if you were free."

"Ah. Sure. Hm. I got Being Human on DVD?" Bofur offered, closing the door.

"I'm not here for telly. I'm here to talk. Drunk or sober, your choice."

"I'd rather do it drunk."

"Then we'll do it sober, cause it's worse than I thought."

Bofur winced, and almost insisted on drinking. He didn't want to be sober to have it confirmed that he'd have to start looking for a new bedmate... but he also didn't want to sound desperate. If he played it well, Nori would never know his friend had had some sort of a crush on him, and Bofur's dignity wouldn't be harmed too much.

"Let's go to the living room then," he sighed.

Once there, he fell on the sofa. Nori threw him a strange look, and sat right next to him, much closer than was necessary.

"So, I hear you're seeing someone?" Bofur asked, and he almost slapped himself. So much for trying to save his dignity then.

Nori flinched. "Who told you that?"

"Dwalin. Says you're thinking of going serious. Can't help but wonder about that though, what with you fucking me on the side and all."

The ginger winced, and rolled his eyes.

"Dwalin was supposed to keep his fucking mouth _shut_ , because I fucking _told_ him I didn't want anyone else to know until I was _sure_ of myself."

"So you admit there's someone."

Nori gazed at him with something that would have been tenderness on anyone else's face. He then sighed, and looked away.

"Yeah, there's someone."

"And you didn't tell me?" Bofur snapped, too hurt to even try to be kind. "We've been pals for years, you fuck me every other Friday, but I don't deserve to know it when you find yourself someone serious?"

"I wasn't sure," Nori retorted with a frown. "I didn't want it to change things for us. I bloody well like what we've got, the going out and the crap telly and the fucking, and I didn't want it to change. When people are in love, stuff get different. I've tried that love shit, it never turned out well. I'm crap at being in love, Bo."

"Then don't be. Why change anything if it pisses you off that much to be in a couple?"

"Cause even if he's a bloody idiot who can't _get a damn hint_ , he's worth the trouble," Nori explained, looking again at Bofur with that strange, fond expression. "He laughs at my stupid jokes, and we enjoy the same crap shows, the same bad beer, he likes my cooking and I like his massages. He's been there most of my life, and cliché as it sounds, I want him by my side for the rest of it too, cause it's him or no one."

Bofur swallowed. It sounded... but he had to make sure, because it might be...

"You're not in love with _Dwalin_ , are you?"

"Oh for... I'm in love with _you_ , you damn moron, but right now I'm wondering why because I swear to god you are Hmfgh!"

Bofur grinned as he kissed the other man, which wasn't a very practical thing to do while kissing, but he didn't care one bit.

"You bloody idiot," he sighed affectionately.  "You couldn't just _tell_ me. No. You had to be all mysterious about it."

"You can talk, mister doesn't-answer-my-text-because-I'm-dramatic."

"Yeah, well, we're well fitted then," Bofur laughed, before kissing him again. “Fucking idiots, the two of us. Well, this calls for celebration. I say we get drunk in front of Coronation Street, and then we fuck on the sofa.”

“That just sounds like any Monday night, how is that celebrating?”

“We could get drunker than usual?”

Nori grinned, and kissed him.

“Deal.”

**Author's Note:**

> I am officially terrible at writing Bofur, sorry (and I couldn't write this from Nori's POV, because I always turn him into that huge ball of angst when I write him oTL)


End file.
